T.J. 2001 Build

cKc99

cKc99

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2016
Messages
31
Location
Nevada, United States
I purchased my first TJ a couple weeks ago. I am a big Volkswagen guy and have been all my life. Currently, I own two of them now, which one of them is undergoing a full restoration and the other one is just about done.

A year ago, I bought a stock 1994 YJ with a 2.5L motor for my son. Long story short, he decided the Jeep was not really for him so I took over it and started tinkering with it. I installed a 2.5" lift kit with longer shackles, added bigger tires, upgraded all the steering including adding power steering to it, did a full tune up, changed all the fluids, added new brakes, and exhaust. I realized that the Wranglers are easy to work on, just like my V-Dubs.

I decided to sell my YJ because the 2.5L was too slow and I liked how the TJ's had the coil suspension. I am still new to the Jeep world and wanted to start a build thread on my new TJ. In the V-Dub world, we know what parts manufacturers to buy from and which ones to avoid, what parts actually work and what doesn't. I want to use this thread to "learn" what companies to use, what equipment to use, to answer many of my questions, to look for advise on certain upgrades, and to post any work I've done on my TJ.

My kids love to name our Volkswagens and the day we picked up our Jeep, my two boys decided we should name the Jeep. They came up with...... T.J. o_O Hence the name of the thread.

I'll post some pics of my Jeep today but here are a couple of pics of the V-Dubs I've owned.

IMG_0011.JPG
IMG_0012.JPG
IMG_0014.JPG
IMG_0015.JPG
IMG_0016.JPG
IMG_0017.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: derekmac, UpperMI and Travis
An aircooled guy? Awesome!

I used to be big into VWs myself when I was younger. Of course I was into watercooled VWs though. I had one of them that one the Waterwagens show.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with the newly acquired TJ!
 
  • Like
Reactions: cKc99
Awesome V dubs! I loved em as a kid. So Cal was big into V dubs in the 70's. Them and lowriders. Love me some 65 Impala with hydraulics, too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: cKc99
I've been tinkering with TJ. My son had some extra LED interior lights so he installed them in the Jeep. I'll post a pic when it gets dark. I installed XM radio and 2 X-Grip mounts to hold the XM radio and my cellphone or GPS. I love these, have one in my work vehicle as well. I installed the rear window bottom seal. It came with the hardtop when I bought it.

IMG_3840.JPG
IMG_3848.JPG
 
So I need to get a new rear bumper with a tire carrier. The current one is a Currie with a hi-jack mount on it. The problem is the frame on the tire carrier is not allowing the rear window to lift up in the new hardtop. I would like to buy a new front bumper as well What do you guys suggest?

Next issue is the steering. So when I picked up the hardtop, I had drive a couple hours in the Jeep to get it. While cruising at 60-65mph, it was wandering all over the road. When I accelerated or let off the gas, it was really bad and left turns, super scary!!!

I checked the steering and everything appeara to be right. I found that one of the tie rod ends is missing the boot as well as one end of the drag link. I also noticed that the draglink and tierod are actually touching each when then wheels are straight.

I noticed that I have a long pitman arm. I read that this could cause some of my wandering steering at high speeds.

Take a look at pics I posted and let me know what you guys think. If there's a steering kit or bumpers you recommend please post up.

IMG_3849.JPG
IMG_3850.JPG
IMG_3852.JPG
IMG_3853.JPG
IMG_3857.JPG
IMG_3859.JPG
IMG_3861.JPG
 
Okay, first things first... GET RID OF THE DROPPED PITMAN ARM! You are correct in your thought process, that is going to cause all sorts of issues. You can read more about it here: Should I install a dropped pitman arm?

Secondly, someone put an under the knuckle crossover steering on there. I would ditch that for either the stock steering, Crown HD steering kit (which is the stock steering, just with a beefier ZJ tie rod), or if you have the money and want the best of the best, get the Currie Currectlync (which I have and LOVE).

This is also a good post worth checking out with commentary from Blaine: What is the best steering system for my Jeep Wrangler TJ?

@mrblaine and @Jerry Bransford can tell you more about the negatives of crossover steering on a TJ than I can, but I would be willing to bet that your TJ being all over the road is probably a mixture of a lot of things such as incorrect alignment / toe-in (see here: how to align your Jeep Wrangler TJ), the dropped pitman arm, and possibly the crossover steering system as a whole.

As for bumpers that's rarely going to depend on what you want so spend. The Savvy aluminum bumpers are fantastic, no doubt about it.

The front bumper I run is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IS93BCE/?tag=wranglerorg-20

I know a lot of people will give me shit for it since it's made in China, but I bought it for two reasons: 1) I liked the look more than any of the others. 2) I needed something with a build in winch mount.

Sure, it's made in China, but truthfully, it's been two years and I haven't had any issues with it at all, so I'm not complaining.

Finally, I really like your TJ! Aside from the crossover steering and dropped pitman arm, it looks like you picked up a really clean, good looking TJ!
 
  • Like
Reactions: AirborneTexasRanger and UpperMI
To cut to the chase, or to be more blunt, your steering problem is caused by that Rube Goldberg steering system together with its dropped Pitman arm. Whoever recommended that steering kit be installed was either incompetent, inexperienced, or drunk. Sorry to be so blunt but steering systems like that never help do anything but cause problems. Despite the cool advertisements that make them sound like they're worthy of being placed on an altar and worshipped.

You'd be better off getting rid of that dropped Pitman arm and replacing your tie rod/drag link with Currie's Currectlync HD steering kit which will correct the geometry back to the way it should be for good steering. Not to mention Currie's steering kit is pretty much bulletproof and is what most experienced wheelers install and run.
 
I knew Jerry could find the words I was looking for... "Rube Goldberg steering system", haha... That's great!

He's right though, get the Currie Currectlync, or if you don't have the money you can get the Crown HD steering kit.

Both of them utilize the stock Haltenberger style steering, which is what you want for your situation.

That steering system that's on there is quite the atrocity.
 
cKc99 said:
Currie steering bought and on its way. What about pitman arm? What do you guys suggest?
Click to expand...

You're going to love that Currie steering, just wait and see. It's so well designed!

The stock pitman arm. That's the one you need to work properly with the Currie steering.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jerry Bransford
Jeep looks good! Following this thread for sure. Color on point too!

@Chris I thought you had the Barricade front bumper. I've been waiting to ask in the right thread.. is there a difference between the Barricade and the E-autogrilles bumper? I ask because that price is right!
 
FF_Jeep said:
Jeep looks good! Following this thread for sure. Color on point too!

@Chris I thought you had the Barricade front bumper. I've been waiting to ask in the right thread.. is there a difference between the Barricade and the E-autogrilles bumper? I ask because that price is right!
Click to expand...

They're identical, no difference whatsoever. It's because they are both made in the same factory in China, just marketed under different names. It's the same way all these LED headlights look the same but have different names. It's because they all come from the same source, and the sellers just call them different names for branding purposes.

I wish I had known that years ago when I paid $300 for my Barricade bumper. Could have saved a lot of money and got the same thing, just cheaper here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IS93BCE/?tag=wranglerorg-20
 
  • Like
Reactions: FF_Jeep
The Currie Currectlync and stock pitman arm came in this week. I was hoping to install it this weekend but it's suppose to snow all weekend. We'll see....

What's your guys opinion on aftermarket sway bar kits. I was looking at the Currie CE-9900 Antirock front sway bar kit.

IMG_3869.jpg
 
cKc99 said:
The Currie Currectlync and stock pitman arm came in this week. I was hoping to install it this weekend but it's suppose to snow all weekend. We'll see....

What's your guys opinion on aftermarket sway bar kits. I was looking at the Currie CE-9900 Antirock front sway bar kit.
Click to expand...

That is undoubtedly the BEST sway bar solution you can get for these vehicles, hands down. So much better than the simple disconnects everyone runs.

I have the Currie Antirock myself and absolutely love it. Like I said, it is undisputedly the best solution for our TJs.
 
Top Bottom
Back